pretext

She believed they were duped by the daughter of ex-president Jacob Zuma under the pretext of attending a personal development course in Russia.

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

The parties “worked in tandem and were never actually adverse,” she wrote, calling the lawsuit a pretext for a settlement “that had no viable basis in law or fact.”

From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026

“We’re worried this is a pretext for people to fall out of the asylum system and fall out of the workforce,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2026

Eventually, they flew her to Ahmedabad under the pretext of visiting a sick relative.

From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026

She spun the dial and tugged the door open, ducking her head inside under the pretext of sorting things into and out of her backpack.

From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

No surprise, the panel agreed with him and concocted pretexts to kill the treatment—for instance, the staff opined that maybe biopsies had zapped the tumors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

Actions over the Fed building were "pretexts", he said.

From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2026

He dismissed the possible threat of a criminal indictment over his testimony or the renovation project as "pretexts."

From Barron's ● Jan. 12, 2026

In Philadelphia, for example, after the aforementioned drop in citations, the city decided to phase out police enforcement of minor traffic violations, including dubious pretexts like “rearview mirror decorations.”

From Slate ● Apr. 25, 2023

It was useless for him to invent pretexts to remain there on the "Rock."

From The Enemies of Women (Los enemigos de la mujer) by Vicente Blasco Ib??ez